FORT PIERCE, Fla. – The Kenyon College baseball team wrapped up its spring break slate Thursday at Lawnwood complex, dropping both ends against Thiel College. The Tomcats claimed game one, 5-2, before holding off the Owls in the second game, 7-6.. With the pair of losses, Kenyon moved to 8-8 overall, while Thiel picked up its first two wins of the season to improve to 2-7.
Thiel struck first in the opener, pushing across two runs in the bottom of the first. After a leadoff walk and a hit batter, Kolten Kruszewski lined an RBI single through the right side, and a sacrifice fly from Zach Smith added another run to put the Tomcats ahead 2-0. Thiel added an unearned run in the second to build a 3-0 edge.
Kenyon got on the board in the third when Aaron Moss reached on an error and later scored on Otto McDill's RBI triple to right-center. The Owls pulled within one again in the fifth after Niko Price doubled and Gio Giuliani followed with an RBI single up the middle, trimming the deficit to 3-2.
The Tomcats finished the job in the sixth. A single, a fielder's choice and another base hit loaded the inning with pressure before Mason Sherwin drove in one run with a single to right. Moments later, Colton Brightwell added another RBI single to stretch the lead to 5-2, and Thiel closed out the opener from there.
Kenyon finished with eight hits in game one. Ben Zimmerman paced the Owls by going 2-for-3, while Tyler Nee, Moss, Price, McDill, Giuliani and Matt Ardell each added a hit. McDill's triple produced one run, and Giuliani drove in the other.
On the mound in the opener, Theo Canning took the loss and fell to 2-1 after allowing three runs, one earned, over 1.2 innings. Peyton Hodges gave the Owls 2.2 scoreless innings in relief with four strikeouts, while Jack Enger and Jack Briscoe also saw action. For Thiel, Brady Rzodkiewicz earned the win after working six innings and allowing two runs, one earned, on eight hits, and Isaiah Torres recorded the save.
Game two started much better for KC. Nee doubled to open the bottom of the first, then stole home during a double steal with Giuliani to give the Owls a 1-0 lead. Thiel responded with a five-run second inning, capitalizing on three hits, two Kenyon errors and a hit batter to swing in front 5-1. Max Bihler's two-RBI single was the biggest blow of the frame.
The Owls chipped away in the third. Nee singled and stole second before McDill doubled to right field. Giuliani lifted a sacrifice fly, and Price followed with an RBI single to cut the margin to 5-3. The Tomcats added an unearned run in the fifth and another in the sixth to go up 7-3, but Kenyon kept battling.
In the sixth, Nee singled again to start the inning, and Price later drove in a run with a single to right-center. Bryce McNair added a sacrifice fly to make it 7-5. In the seventh, Trey Kent-Landrum singled, Baird Sirianni reached on a fielder's choice, and another Nee single put the tying runs aboard. A wild pitch brought home Sirianni and cut the deficit to one, but the Owls could not push across the equalizer.
Kenyon totaled 12 hits in the second game, led by Nee's 4-for-5 afternoon with three runs scored and two stolen bases. Price went 2-for-4 with two RBIs, Kent-Landrum collected two hits, and both McDill and McNair drove in runs. The Owls drew five walks but were hurt by five errors in the field.
Chris Cannuscio was charged with the loss in game two and dropped to 2-2 after allowing five runs, two earned, in 1.2 innings. Andrew Catron and Isaiah Vance followed in relief, with Vance covering the final three innings. For Thiel, D. Fedele earned the win after allowing three runs over five innings, JT Gerle worked the sixth, and A. Manuel picked up the save.
Kenyon will now have a week off before returning to the diamond on Thursday, March 19, traveling to Hiram College with first pitch set for 3:00 p.m.
